Comptroller Kevin Lembo is projecting Connecticut will carry a $128.1 million deficit for fiscal year 2020 and has called on federal assistance to maintain fiscal viability.
“It”™s decision time,” Lembo said in a statement. “Our state economy is showing signs of recovery from the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but without a significant investment from the federal government those gains may slip away and Connecticut families and businesses will suffer.”
Although Connecticut recovered more than 100,000 jobs that were lost at the beginning of the pandemic, Lembo noted unemployment levels remain at near record highs and employment is still down 172,700 jobs from the same period last year. Lembo urged Congress to extend the $600 supplemental weekly unemployment benefits that lapsed on July 31. He also sought federal financial assistance for low-wage service industry workers and additional support for states and municipalities facing cuts to social service programs.
“I am urging Congress to consider the human cost of delaying further financial assistance,” he said. “Without sufficient support, Connecticut and nearly every state across the country, will see spikes in evictions, foreclosures and bankruptcies, and the jobs we”™ve yet to recover may be lost permanently. State and local governments will be forced into impossible budgetary choices.”
Nonetheless, there were some hopeful signs on the near horizon. In a letter to Gov. Ned Lamont, Lembo pointed to a recent net improvement in tax receipts as more filing data becomes available. He also detailed that the state”™s budget reserve fund was growing and is projected to close the Fiscal Year with a balance of over $2.8 billion.
Lembo is scheduled to present his preliminary reporting of the unaudited operating results for fiscal year 2020 on Sept. 30.
Oh please that’s nothing. NY is facing a $15 to $20 Billion shortfall, but its budget wasn’t balanced even before the pandemic hit and the Democrats still refuse to cut any expenses.